The settlement, approved by a vote of 14-1, brings to an end the woman's civil rights suit against the city. The city will have to borrow money to cover the payout, a move recommended by the city attorney’s office.

Ald. Mark A. Borkowski voted against both paying the settlement and borrowing to fund it.

The settlement is among the largest paid by the city to a single person in recent history, falling between the $2 million deal with Frank Jude, who was beaten by a group of off-duty officers at a Bay View party in 2004, and the $3 million payment to Curtis Harris, left paralyzed after being thrown to the ground by an on-duty officer in 2003.

A series of potentially illegal strip searches by police between 2008 and 2012 yielded a $5 million payout to be divided among 74 African-American city residents and their attorneys.

The woman was 19 when she was raped by now-fired officer Ladmarald Cates, who was criminally convicted in federal court of violating her civil rights by engaging in aggravated sexual abuse while acting under color of law. He is serving a 24-year prison term.

The Journal Sentinel does not name victims of sexual assault.

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Cates in December 2010 for lying and for "idling and loafing" because having sex on duty is against department rules.

In 2011, a Journal Sentinel investigation revealed Cates had been accused of breaking the law five times before. Three of the previous allegations involved sexual misconduct — two with female prisoners and one with a 16-year-old girl. The alleged incidents date to 2000, three years after he was hired by the department.

In a statement issued after the Council approved the settlement, Milwaukee Police Spokesman Sgt. Timothy Gauerke described the damage Cates did to the victim and to the public trust as "intolerable."

He pointed out that none of the previous allegations against Cates occurred during the tenure of the current chief, Edward Flynn. Gauerke also emphasized a change in department policy regarding investigations of potentially criminal officer misconduct. In the past, internal discipline was not determined until after the district attorney had finished his investigation.

"As evidenced in recent cases, MPD no longer waits for criminal charges to be issued or a criminal verdict to make a decision regarding employment status with the department," Gauerke said. "The Milwaukee Police Department pledges to work diligently to screen out potentially problematic employees and to fire those who disgrace the honor of our hard-working officers."

Mary Spicuzza of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.